In September 2011, incumbent governor John Lynch (D) announced he would not seek another term in office. He explained that although "for me, being governor of the State of New Hampshire is the best job in the world [and] serving in this role is the highest privilege of my life, democracy demands periodic change. To refresh and revive itself, democracy needs new leaders and new ideas."[1]

Six candidates were eager to take Lynch up on his call to "refresh and revive" the state of New Hampshire: three Republicans and three Democrats ran in the primary elections. Ovide Lamontagne (R) made his second run for the state's top office; he ran unsuccessfully in 1996 but was the best known of the candidates and had a slight lead over all of the Democratic candidates in polling prior to the primary elections. Two former state Senators ran for the Democratic nomination, though neither Maggie Hassan nor Jackie Cilley was well known among New Hampshire voters who had, in the context of this election, been dubbed "an unengaged electorate."

Note: The polls above may not reflect all polls that have been conducted in this race. Those displayed are a random sampling chosen by Ballotpedia staff. If you would like to nominate another poll for inclusion in the table, send an email to editor@ballotpedia.org.

Note: The polls above may not reflect all polls that have been conducted in this race. Those displayed are a random sampling chosen by Ballotpedia staff. If you would like to nominate another poll for inclusion in the table, send an email to editor@ballotpedia.org.

Republican primary

Note: The polls above may not reflect all polls that have been conducted in this race. Those displayed are a random sampling chosen by Ballotpedia staff. If you would like to nominate another poll for inclusion in the table, send an email to editor@ballotpedia.org.

Democratic primary

Note: The polls above may not reflect all polls that have been conducted in this race. Those displayed are a random sampling chosen by Ballotpedia staff. If you would like to nominate another poll for inclusion in the table, send an email to editor@ballotpedia.org.

Campaign sites

General election

Ovide Lamontagne

On August 23, 2012, Republican candidate Ovide Lamontagne revealed his campaign had roughly $718,000 remaining from the nearly $1.2 million he had raised to that point.[21]Lamontagne had approximately $600,000 more cash on hand than any other candidate.

As of October 18, 2012, Lamontagne's campaign had a 2-1 lead over any other competitor in campaign funds.[22]Lamontagne had nearly $286,000 on hand, compared with a little more than $134,000 for Maggie Hassan's campaign.[22]Lamontagne's campaign reported that it raised nearly $302,000 since the September 11th Republican primary and had spent more than $274,000, leaving it with nearly $286,000 in the bank as of October 18, 2012.[22]

Hassan raised nearly $1.1 million prior to the September 11th Democratic primary but spent almost all of it to defeat challenger Jackie Cilley in order to take the Democratic nomination.[22]Hassan entered the general election with just $16,000 on hand, compared with $258,000 in the bank for Republican challenger Lamontagne. In the month following the primary election, Hassan raised more than $470,000, according to the report filed October 18, 2012, and she spent nearly $353,000, leaving her with a little more than $134,000 cash-on-hand.[22]

In a news release, Hassan's campaign reported that more than 2,100 individuals donated money since the September 11th Democratic primary.[22] Reports also showed that more than 5,500 people gave money to Hassan's campaign in total, with 77 percent giving $100 or less, according to the campaign's news release.[22]

Among Hassan's larger donors were famed filmmaker Ken Burns, a Walpole resident who gave Hassan a total of $3,500 including $1,000 on October 1, 2012 and Joseph Morone, the president and chief executive officer of Rochester-based Albany International, who donated $8,100 including $1,000 on September 28, 2012.[22]

John Babiarz

Babiarz reported $217.36 on hand as of October 16, 2012, having spent $522.64 and raised $740, including a $500 contribution from himself.[22]